By Delle Willett
When Urbana opened in February 2015, it offered tenants more than just a place to live, it offered them the opportunity to be part of a community — the Urbana community and the East Village community
With that goal, the developer, H.G. Fenton Company, included four areas for tenants to meet and gather 24 hours a day. Indoors, at the Linger Lounge and Play Room; and outdoors, at Vitamin D and Unwind.
A co-work space, Linger Lounge has an espresso coffee maker where residents can make their own brew. The Play Room has games and four TVs, all set on sports stations.
Outside, Unwind is a place to “zen out” or throw some shrimp on the “barbee.”
Vitamin D, located up on the rooftop, has a view to the new San Diego Central Library, Petco Park, and the Coronado Bridge, even from the raised hot tub.
With a variety of seating, a bar with beer taps, a professional kitchen with a barbeque, big screen HDTVs, fire pits, views of Friday night fireworks from Petco Park, and a gorgeous living wall, this space wins the prize for being the most popular from sunrise coffee to after-dark gatherings.
All shared spaces have a quiet hour beginning at 10 p.m.
Being a resident of Urbana has its privileges in the community of East Village as well. Each person has a special Urbana key-chain fob to identify them as a resident, which garners them special privileges such as VIP-line access at local bars and breweries, and discounts off the bill.
Crystal Poggi, Community Director of Urbana, made a point of going out into the community to make these connections. Poggi oversees leasing activities and manages the property, including the members-only program, an initiative that arranges special outings for residents such as seats at the Padres opening day and guaranteed reservations at upscale restaurants.
“We want our residents to meet each other and their neighbors,” Poggi said. “We want them to venture out in East Village to discover the special place it is. It’s like a small town inside a big city.”
Poggi, who also lives on-site with her husband, works with a staff of three who provide 24-hour service to the residents. Staff can be found in the co-work space, which doubles as their office and makes them very accessible.
“No matter what happens, someone from the staff is always available,” Poggi said.
Urbana has 96 units, with 84 already rented. There are three different apartment types: studios and one- and two-bedroom flats.
Studios come in four sizes and lease from $1,600 to $1975. One-bedrooms come in two sizes and lease from $1975 to $2,500. Two-bedrooms come in three sizes, leasing from $2,900 to $3,995.
Urbana offers a priority reservation program where residents can essentially get pre-qualified to live there for a future move-in date. Those pre-qualified residents are offered “first right of choice” to rental flats once notices are received.
Located at 450 10th St. at J Street, Urbana is convenient to the trolley, the new Central Library, Petco Park, and the Gaslamp District, and there are four grocery stores within walking distance.
A pet-friendly residence, Urbana welcomes cats of all sizes and dogs up to 100 pounds, with a maximum of two animals per residence.
Dog owners have the option of taking their dog to the Quartyard — located just a few blocks away — to run free in the 5000-square-foot dog run, or on-leash to Park at the Park, or on a more ambitious walk to the Waterfront Park or other parks at Embarcadero Marina South and North.
Robin Wilson Interior Design’s design of Urbana is, well, urban, with concrete floors in hallways and abundant use of reclaimed wood in the common areas. And in the residences, Wilson went with stainless steel appliances, dark wood cabinets, white quartz countertops, industrial tile backsplashes, durable wood-style flooring, tiled floors and showers in bathrooms, stacking washer/dryers and lots of storage space. Some residences also have additional storage off their decks.
Designed by Architects Orange, from Orange, California, and landscape architects Gillespie, Moody, Patterson of San Diego, this forward-thinking green building also exceeds California energy-efficiency standards with GE Energy Star appliances, central heating, solar energy-assisted water heating and toilets, high-efficiency laundries, air conditioning, dual-glazed windows, ceiling fans, and smart NEST thermostats so residents can manage temperatures from their cell phone, a recycling program, and more.
The landscaping incorporates drought-tolerant native California and Mediterranean plants and high-efficiency drip systems.
Circling back to community connections and member perks — Urbana residents also have inside access to Anatomy, a boutique-style fitness center located in the same building at reduced rates.
In addition, Urbana’s halls and common areas serve as a gallery called UrbanArtist, where Marc Sandoval, former owner of Molotov Gallery in the Gaslamp, showcases and is selling his own artwork and that of other East Village artists with artists receiving 100 percent of the proceeds.
Urbana has a two-floor, underground secured-parking garage with charging stations for electric cars, storage lockers and a wheelhouse for bikes. Sandoval eventually plans on painting murals there.
Poggi has been with Fenton — founded in 1906 by Henry G. Fenton — for more than nine years. She came over to the Urbana property after managing Fenton’s Evening Creek in Poway.
“I’ve wanted to work at Urbana for over three years. Since I came here to help open it, I have put a lot of energy into building this community. Now I want to stay and be a part of it myself,” she said.
Fenton’s next development will be in Little Italy, but for now, Poggi, 32, is staying put.
—Delle Willett has been a marketing and public relations professional for over 30 years, with an emphasis on conservation of the environment. She can be reached at [email protected].
